Our very first half-day In Focus Conference ‘Breastfeeding Now’ took place on 31 March and was a huge success!
The virtual programme brought together leading experts in contemporary breastfeeding practice to explore current ‘hot topics’ to improve the promotion and support of effective breastfeeding for all families. We were privileged to be joined by such eminent speakers, including:
- Professor Amy Brown – Professor of Child Public Health, Swansea University; Director of Swansea University LIFT research centre for Lactation, Infant Feeding and Translation; Author of “Covid-babies: How pandemic health measures undermined pregnancy, birth and early parenting”, “The positive breastfeeding book” and “Let’s talk about feeding your baby”, amongst other popular titles.
- Associate Professor Dr. B.J. (Epstein) Woodstein, University of East Anglia – Expertise in LGBTQ+ studies and Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues; Breastfeeding counsellor (IBCLC) on the National Breastfeeding Helpline and peer supporter for Pregnancy Sickness Support. B.J. is also a trained doula and has written on the importance of supporting LGBTQ+ individuals/families with regard to breastfeeding. Her forthcoming book, “We’re Here! A Practical Guide to Becoming an LGBTQ+ Parent”, demystifies queer parenting both for LGBTQ+ people and those who work with them.
- Dr Alison Spiro – iHV Breastfeeding Professional Adviser; Specialist Health Visitor and Infant Feeding lead; Author of “Breastfeeding for public health”.
- Gail Barker – Health Visitor Professional Lead for Devon Public Health Nursing; Infant Feeding lead for Devon’s innovative 3-tier ‘Latch and Attach’ service; and iHV Professional Adviser for Infant feeding.
- Dr Natalie Shenker – Researcher and Co-founder of Hearts Milk Bank and the Human Milk Foundation.
The conference aimed to:
- Highlight the latest thinking, evidence and practice innovations in the field of breastfeeding initiation and support.
- Present examples of health visiting best practice as part of an integrated place-based system of breastfeeding support to improve outcomes and reduce inequalities for infants and their families, from universal to specialist intervention.
- Bring together a multi-professional group of practitioners and experts from across health visiting, maternity and the early years workforce with a shared ambition to improve breastfeeding and support every baby to achieve the best start in life.
- As well as hearing from experts, the half-day conference allowed time for delegates to engage in live Q & A sessions with the keynote speakers and learn from colleagues through discussions on challenges and opportunities in current practice.
- Support continuous professional development and gain CPD points for revalidation.
